NCAA women's basketball roundup

Ariel Braker matched her career high with 15 points and Natalie Achonwa added 11 points and nine rebounds to help Notre Dame beat Seton Hall Saturday for the Irish's 17th straight victory.

Notre Dame (22-1, 10-0 Big East) trailed 2-0 before jumping on the Pirates by scoring 17 of the next 19 points. Achonwa had seven points during the run, including back-to-back layups.

Seton Hall trailed by 14 before going on a 13-4 spurt to close to 33-28 on Tabatha Richardson-Smith's 3-pointer with 2:29 left in the first half. The Irish led 35-28 at the break.

The Pirates (8-15, 3-7) got within eight in the second half before Notre Dame put the game away with a 12-2 run keyed by Braker.

Brittany Morris scored 16 points to lead Seton Hall.

It was a much better effort for Seton Hall then the last few meetings with the Irish. Last season the Pirates trailed 49-16 at the half and never got back in the game, losing 74-36.

This time hot shooting kept them in it for 20 minutes. Notre Dame scored four quick points to start the second half to boost its lead back to double figures, but Seton Hall closed to 41-33 with five straight points by Morris.

That's as close as they'd get as Notre Dame scored 12 of the next 14 points to put the game away, including six by Braker.

The Irish return home to face No. 11 Louisville on Monday night.

The win was the 117th for the senior class of Kaila Turner and Diggins matching them with the group that graduated last year for the most in school history. Turner was wearing a sling on her left shoulder and didn't play. She injured the elbow against Villanova.

Despite the winter storm that hit the area, there was a strong crowd on hand for the Play4Kay game in honor of former North Carolina State coach Kay Yow. Seton Hall was wearing pink uniforms for the game.

No. 11 Louisville 78, Pittsburgh 45

Shoni Schimmel led five players in double figures with 22 points and reserve Megan Deines added 17 to help Louisville rout Pittsburgh for its sixth straight win.

Deines made 7 of 11 shots in just 22 minutes, Bria Smith had 11 points, and Antonita Slaughter and Sara Hammond chipped in 10 apiece for the Cardinals (20-4, 8-2 Big East).

Brianna Kiesel scored 14 points to lead Pitt (9-14, 0-10), which made just 7 of 24 shots in the first half and trailed 39-20 at the break. The Panthers committed 26 turnovers.

The Cardinals opened the second half with a 14-3 run to stretch their lead to 53-23.

The Panthers held a 34-32 rebounding edge but got just 11 points from their reserves.

No. 25 Iowa State 87, Kansas State 71

Chelsea Poppens had 22 points and 18 rebounds, and Hallie Christofferson led all scorers with 25 points as Iowa State beat Kansas State.

The Cyclones (17-5, 8-4 Big 12) also got 12 points from Kidd Blaskowsky and 10 from Anna Prins. Nikki Moody had nine points and 13 assists for Iowa State, which has won three in a row.

Kansas State never led in the game and has lost four in a row, but Brittany Chambers scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Mariah White scored 25 points for the Wildcats (12-11, 3-8), and the 59 combined points is the most for two players in a game in K-State women's basketball history.

Iowa State shot 61 percent in the first half and built a 51-29 halftime lead. The Cyclones finished at 52 percent and Kansas State ended up shooting 40 percent.